Cup of wellness

When I was eleven and going on almost 5 foot 8 inches tall, my mother sat me down and asked me to try a a cup of coffee. I did not figure out until years later, when I reached my full height of 5 foot 10 inches tall, that just maybe she was trying to slow my growth rate. I guess back then being that tall for a girl was unbecoming. Anyway, I did have the cup of coffee, and promptly threw up and have never touched the stuff since. Even now the strong aroma of coffee makes me mildly nauseous. Later in my twenties I had tried caffeinated tea to help with long work days, Morning Thunder was a favorite, but I developed a adverse reaction to caffeine.

When the recent study came out heralding that drinking one to three cups of coffee a day can lengthen your life (12% for one cup, up to 18% for three cups) my thoughts were varied. Getting past the age of 65 is supposed to enhance your chances of getting to 85. Antioxidants come in many forms. Thank goodness for dark chocolate.

Wellness is a widely used term that we did not grow up with. Yet the boomer generation has had the timely opportunity to incorporate it in all of its various presentations. I pick up the local wellness guides and there are literally dozens of ways to reach, attain or preserve wellness. Yes, they still do Reikei.

They say 71% of people who do choose to go into newer retirement communities, choose those with the most defined wellness programs. Surely even as we age we can and should learn more about our personal core of ‘wellness’. Trends in fitness and nutrition come and go. Each of us has to find their own path to wellness and aging. You have to know the difference in how you feel between a junky diet and a refined one. If drinking cups of coffee a day fuels your mind and body, go for it.

My perspective is that I can not drink coffee, I do not do well with any substantial amount of caffeine and I have some varied fruit allergies. So much for pomegranate juice! Yes antioxidants are good and the key to healing life’s natural stress on our bodies. Looking through this article was useful to highlight other alternatives: http://www.allstarhealth.com/blog/allstarhealth-top-ten/best-antioxidant-drinks/

So I am not saying put down your mug of Costa Rica gold. Rather sit yourself down over a cup of what works for you ( mine is Turmeric tea) and paint a creative mental list of how to maintain your personal wellness quotient. My formula is good sleep, a vegetarian diet, Tai Chi for balance and flexibility, weight resistance at the gym and long walks every other day. Maybe you have to be your own guru and trust your instincts. As they used to say if if feels good, do it.

One Comment

I think you're right to recommend that we individualize our wellness practices to reflect our likes and physical traits, such as allergies. For a long time I made myself drink green tea because it seems to have many health benefits, but I never enjoyed it. Eventually I substituted other drinks that seem just as healthy (eg, unsweetened black cherry juice), but were more appealing to me. Fortunately, there are now many helpful websites, such as the one you have included in your post, that simplify the process of making healthy choices.